Samsung denies planning bid for rival Nokia

Samsung has denied it is planning a takeover of Nokia, after shares in the Finnish manufacturer surged on Friday.

The Korean electronics company overtook Nokia as the world's largest handset manufacturer during the first quarter of this year, according to research firm Gartner. Shares in Nokia leapt by 6% on 8 June, amid speculation Samsung was readying a bid for its rival. A year ago, Samsung was also forced to deny it was on the verge of making an approach for Nokia.

Nokia has had a difficult start to its latest financial year. It made an operating loss of €1.34bn, with its devices and services phone division losing €219m. Sales in the divsion were down 40% to €4.25bn.